I glanced at Billy with a questioning look. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve been distracted lately.”
Letting out a humorless laugh, I replied, “Distracted how?”
Billy sighed. “It’s like you’re somewhere else. You stare off into space. You’ve been late a few times, which isn’t like you at all. And you’re eager to get home every night. Usually, you’re asking what MaryAnne cooked for dinner and joining us more often than not. But you’ve been going home for lunchanddinner, and I don’t think you’ve joined us in the barn for breakfast at all this week. Is something wrong with Piper?”
“Piper?” I asked.
“Yeah. What’s making you run home so much?”
Bubba had warned me the guys were starting to talk, and that I needed to come up with a reason why my schedule was changing so drastically.
“Piper’s fine, and nothing’s wrong, Billy. I’ve just got a situation going on that I have to handle on my own.”
His brows drew down. “A situation you can’t share with your best friends?”
I hated lying to him. He knew I was keeping a secret. “Billy, do you trust me?”
“With my life,” he instantly replied.
“Then I need you to trust me onthis. I’ve got something going on, and I can’t tell you about it. It has nothing to do with the ranch, so don’t worry about that.”
“I’m not worried about the ranch. You forget MaryAnne is the bookkeeper. I know the ranch is profitable. I am, however, worried aboutyou.”
I studied the worry on his face. I wanted to tell himsomethingso that he didn’t feel like I was keeping him totally in the dark. “I…I might have found out what happened to Emily.”
His face drained of color.“What?”
I said quickly, “This has to stay between us. Promise me, Billy.”
“Dude, I’ll promise it in blood, if that’s what you want.”
I forced a wobbly smile. “The night I left your place, during the storm?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, I found something, and I can’t tell you what it was. At least not right now.”
“Okay.”
“It’s led me to believe that Emily was kidnapped and held by someone right here in our area.”
Billy sat back in his chair and stared at me, looking like he’d been punched. After a few minutes, he nodded. “Okay. Well, we always kind of thought she was kidnapped. What makes you think she was held by someone in the area?”
I shook my head. “That’s the thing I can’t tell you. I’m working with Randy, and for now, we’re keeping the rest of the police out of it. Let’s just say the only people I trust are my cousin, you, and the guys.”
“Holy crap, Liam. Does Bubba know?”
I nodded. “Just know that has nothing to do with me not trustingyou. There’s someone else involved, and I need to respect them and their wishes.”
“Of course.”
“I need to also ask that no one comes to the house for the foreseeable future.”
Billy started to laugh—then instantly stopped when he realized I was serious. “Wait, you don’t want any of us to come to your place? Not even for poker night tonight?”
It suddenly felt like someone had dropped a brick into my stomach. “Shit. I forgot about poker night. No, we need to cancel it or have it at your place.”
